


Batgirl Unchained

by scarecorvid, TheOptionalArgonaut



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Cassandra Cain, Bruce Wayne is retired, Cassandra Cain is Batman, Damian Wayne is Nightwing, Gen, Idk it's not at the front of the story but they have a kid who's one of the main characters, Next Generation, Referenced Dickory, Stephanie Brown is Batwoman, like ninety per cent ocs, past dickbabs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 11:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20795804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarecorvid/pseuds/scarecorvid, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOptionalArgonaut/pseuds/TheOptionalArgonaut
Summary: Cheryl used to have one path in life. She was told she'd become a criminal. That was it. At least, that was what she used to think. Then she learned the truth about herself and now she must choose between a life of crime or a life of fighting it.





	Batgirl Unchained

The day was finally here.

Cheryl had gotten quick as she could the moment she jumped out of bed. She’d practically swallowed her breakfast whole and she’d been watching the clock until that beautiful time was displayed.

Half past eight.

Today was finally the day she’d prove herself to the others. She’d show them that she wasn’t just a stupid little kid and that she could help. As she sprinted to meet up with the boss, she was stopped by a sharp tug at her hood which almost made her fall over. Cheryl whipped her head around and saw nothing but the cool smirk of none other than Maryam.

‘You seem to be in a hurry.’ Maryam looked Cheryl up and down with piercing green eyes, a slight yet cold chuckle coming from the girl’s mouth. ‘Why is that?’

‘Today’s finally the day where I get to prove myself. That’s why I’m in a hurry. Don’t wanna be late for it.’ Cheryl cautiously removed Maryam’s hand from her hood.

‘Ah. Time flies doesn’t it? I can’t help but remember back when you were younger. The years just fly by, don’t they?’ Maryam said, folding her gloved arms.

‘You’re only two years older than me you know… You should stop acting like you’re forty-five.’ Cheryl quirked her mouth into a lopsided smile. Joking with Maryam was like trying to do a backflip on a tightrope over a pool of piranhas. Very dangerous to an amateur. Fortunately, Maryam merely chuckled.

‘And you need to stop acting like you’re six years old,’ Maryam told her. ‘Anyway, I won’t keep you any longer. Good luck, Cardinal.’

Cheryl gave Maryam a quick nod and rushed off. It was just then she noticed that she’d felt as if her sweat had turned into ice cubes. Sure, they had known each other for a long time, but there was something unpredictably and undeniably cruel behind those sharp green eyes that Maryam owned.

Enough to give any man the heebie-jeebies

After a couple more moments of powerwalking as fast as her legs could manage, Cheryl finally met up with the boss.

_Goldfinch _

Goldfinch was a head or two taller than Cheryl, and behind designer glasses laid cruel eyes. But they were familiar eyes to Cheryl.

Cheryl cleared her throat. ‘Today’s the day. You promised.’ Cheryl looked up at him. Goldfinch’s eyes seemed puzzled for a moment before a look of clarity passed over them.

‘Ah. I did, didn’t I? Well, I am a man of my word, aren’t I?’ He adjusted his mustard-coloured jacket before looking down at Cheryl again. ‘Ah, you’re growing up so fast. God- I remember the day me and the boys found you like it was yesterday. Anyway, Hummingbird and Swallow will take you down to the docks. Your job is to oversee some goods being unloaded. Anyone who interferes, you deal with them. You got it?’ Goldfinch said.

Cheryl nodded.

‘Good.’

Ten seconds later Cheryl was being driven to the docks by Hummingbird and Swallow. Two other members of the Gotham Avians. Hummingbird was short, but they were fast and sometimes all you needed was a fast guy. Swallow was big. Everyone needed a big guy sometimes. Enough said.

‘You better not fail,’ Hummingbird stated. ‘Or else the Boss won’t give you another opportunity like this.’

‘I won’t fail.’ Cheryl looked out the window. She just hoped Batman wouldn’t show up tonight. Batman could ruin her chances of ever gaining any respect. Maybe if she got lucky, Batman would be busy with some other criminal. After all, there was no shortage of criminals in Gotham City, it went without saying. So hopefully Batman would be distracted tonight.

Hopefully.

Finally, they arrived at the docks, Cheryl practically burst out of the car. Half of the goons were already loading the various products out from the shipping container and into the black vans, to be taken away.

_‘This won’t take long_’ Cheryl thought as she pulled her hood up and did the same with her mask. Her mask had been designed to look like a black beak, most masks that belonged to members of the Gotham Avians were made to look like beaks. Keeping up with the theme was important you know?

Cheryl watched Hummingbird and Swallow drive off until the black car disappeared from sight. She looked at the goons, who still worked on loading the products into the vans.

She inhaled

Then she exhaled.

She was going to earn everyone’s respect.

-

Robin

_Goddamn Robin_

That costumed child was going to ruin everything, and Cheryl was the only one who could stop him. So they were having a fight that consisted of Cheryl trying to scratch his eyes out and Robin doing so many backflips it would cause a gymnastics coach to faint from awe.

‘You know, you’re like fifteen at the most. You should probably be in school. Not working with the mafia.’ Robin dodged a punch from Cheryl.

‘Can it bird-brain. Like you’re one to talk.’ Cheryl dodged a kick from Robin before trying, and failing, to kick him where the sun won’t shine. ‘You know I thought Comic Con wasn’t in Gotham for another month at least!’

‘C’mon that’s different and you know it! I’m fighting crime! You are the crime!’

‘Like I said. Can it bird-brain.’ Cheryl said. ‘By the way, where’s Batman? I didn’t think you could be left alone for five minutes without your babysitter.’

‘Just me tonight.’

‘Aw, has the chick left it’s parents’ nest?’ Cheryl laughed a bit at her own joke, as she was the only one who would laugh at it.

‘Trust a member of the Gotham Avians to make bad bird puns.’ Robin rolled his eyes as he kicked her. Cheryl was unfortunately too busy laughing at her own bad joke, and Robin’s annoyance at it, to dodge it in time so she ended up taking this kick straight to the gut. Which ended up making her fall over. Robin quickly produced a pair of handcuffs, but before he could do anything she kicked him in the chest as hard as she could. He landed at least a few feet away. Cheryl took this opportunity to sprint away as fast as she could. One phrase repeated in her head.

She’d failed

She’d failed

_She’d failed_

She was so far deep into her crisis regarding her failure, that she’d bumped right into some taller guy.

He had black hair and blue eyes. He looked a tiny bit familiar. Just a little bit. Cheryl didn’t have time to dwell on that though. She wasn’t going to get her ass kicked by a traffic-light coloured child. Unfortunately, when he saw her, he decided he was going to ask the question on both their minds, that being the pressing issue if they’d ever met before. Cheryl needed to think. Fast. Before traffic cone boy caught her.

‘Do-‘ The man begin to say but he was cut off with Cheryl kicking him straight in the ding-a-ling.

‘Sorry! No time to chat!’ She said before running off fast as she could manage.

Did she feel a little bad for the guy? Yeah. He definitely didn’t seem like he was expecting THAT to happen. Maybe he was just a nice guy who was asking her if she needed help. Maybe he was not a nice guy at all. Whatever. Nut kicks coming from Cheryl tend to be indiscriminate.

She glanced back for a second to see Robin was helping the poor guy up. Good. She’d bought herself some time. She came across a fence and climbed it as quick as she could manage, slipping in an alleyway underneath the cover of darkness.

Cheryl felt sick. The one chance she’d had to prove herself to the boss, Maryam, everyone. But one costumed child had managed to blow it.

She didn’t know if she’d ever get a chance like this again. Maybe they’d never give her another chance.

All because of goddamn Robin.

She bit her lip. Hopefully Goldfinch would understand. Everyone got their asses kicked by Batman and the rest of that little bat-crew. But deep down the picture of Goldfinch blaming her for this was crystal clear.

God. Why couldn’t she just have gotten lucky for once?

-

Tick

Tock

Tick

The sound of the large, grandfather clock next to her was quiet yet felt deafening all the same. Cheryl clenched her fists into little balls. The air was heavy as two trains and a cruise ship, weighing down on her like the sky weighed down on Atlas, the titan that held up the sky.

She felt Goldfinch’s eyes on her. Cruelly analysing her like how one analyses a paragraph from a story. She bit her lip, looking at the ground.

‘So,’ Goldfinch sat down across from her. ‘You failed.’

‘I didn’t mean to! I hadn’t counted on Robin showing up-‘

‘Of course you didn’t meant to fail.’ Goldfinch idly picked up a small bird figurine that had been sitting on the table between them. ‘No one sets out to do a bad job. Yet still, one must take responsibility for their actions.’

Cheryl wanted to remind Goldfinch of all the times the other Avians had gotten their asses handed to them by one of the various Gotham vigilantes. But she held her tongue, knowing that wouldn’t improve her situation.

‘I mean failing because of Batman or Batwoman or maybe even Nightwing I could potentially excuse. But Robin? Seriously? You got beat by a child? A literal child? Now that’s just embarrassing,’ Goldfinch laughed a little, Cheryl wanted to sink into her chair. Scratch that, she wanted to sink into the ground. Maybe even into the centre of the earth. ‘Do you have anything to say for yourself?’

‘I’m… sorry.’

‘Yeah sorry doesn’t cut it, Cardinal.’ Goldfinch stood up, glaring down at Cheryl with sharp pale eyes. ‘Just be glad I haven’t kicked you out yet. Even though I really should. A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link after all. But _he _decided you could still be useful. Lucky you.’

‘Thanks…’

‘Don’t mention it. Anyway, you should go to your room for now. Think about your failure, take some time to reflect on it y’know?’

‘Yes boss… by the way, can I ask you a question? I saw a guy and he looked kind of familiar… have I ever met him before? I didn’t get a chance to talk to him so I didn’t get his name.’

‘Well can you describe him?’ Goldfinch peered curiously at Cheryl. Cheryl started to describe the man with the dark hair. Goldfinch’s face morphed into a look of anger when she finished.

‘Never speak to that man.’

‘Wh-‘

‘Never. Speak. To. Him.’

Cheryl looked at Goldfinch, and Goldfinch glared down at Cheryl. There was a mixture of emotions present on her boss’s face. Anger. Disgust. Shock. Maybe a bit of fear? She felt like she had to get to the bottom of why the very description of this man caused such a reaction from whom she thought was a level-headed mob boss. It must be something big to cause Goldfinch to react like this.

What Goldfinch didn’t know couldn’t hurt him right?

‘Fine…’ Cheryl said, she got up and headed to her room and formed a plan in her head.

If it worked then she’d be gone by sunrise.

-

‘Where are you going at three in the morning?’ Came the cool voice of Maryam, who leaned against a wall as she watched Cheryl walk. Cheryl turned to look at her, catching the all too familiar smirk and piercing green eyes of Maryam. Those eyes were like an icicle: sharp, cold and they could pierce right through your soul.

‘I could ask you something similar. What are you doing up at three in the morning?’ Cheryl replied, folding her arms as she looked at the taller girl. Cheryl normally felt that in more ways than one, Maryam looked down at her. She wondered if Maryam would have stopped if she’d succeeded today. Maybe. Maybe not.

‘Answer my question first, Cardinal.’ Maryam rolled her eyes, looking at Cheryl as if she were a particularly nasty stain on her favourite shirt.

‘I’m leaving.’

‘What?’

‘I said, I’m leaving,’ Cheryl sighed. She clutched the strap of her backpack for security. It felt light, but she had all the essentials. It wasn’t like she had much things in general anyway. The Avians didn’t exactly spoil her after all.

‘You’d leave the only people who took you in? Cardinal, you’re acting ridiculous. Think of what you’re doing here.’ Maryam shook her head as she looked at Cheryl. Yet the words of Robin echoed in her head. She shouldn’t be doing this. She shouldn’t have to do this.

‘Look around Maryam. This isn’t some kind of happy family it’s literally the mob,’ Cheryl stated. ‘I don’t know what a real family does, but I’ve heard they usually love and support each other, and this isn’t love or support.’

‘Are you even hearing yourself speak right now? You’re not entitled to a ‘lovey-dovey family’ Cardinal. You have to deserve it, and I’m sure you don’t deserve one.’

‘Whatever, I knew you wouldn’t understand Maryam…’ Cheryl said. ‘I don’t care if you tell Goldfinch or any of the others that I’m leaving. Even if I told you not to, I know you will anyway.’

With that Cheryl walked off, not even bothering to glance back at Maryam. She could’ve sworn she’d heard Maryam mumbled something under her breath, but she didn’t care anymore. She wasn’t going to about any of this anymore. She just needed to do one thing.

She needed to find out who was that dark haired, blue eyed man, and nothing was going to stop her from finding out.


End file.
